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| Vt. Inmate Death Ruled Suicide |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 06/10/2003 |
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Vermont State Police have ruled that suicide took the life of Lawrence John Bessette Jr., an inmate at Northern State Correctional Facility. Authorities concluded that Bessette, a 1987 graduate of Burlington High School, hanged himself with a belt. He was found around 3:30 p.m. on May 22 hanging from the bunk bed in his prison cell. Vermont State Police, who investigate inmate deaths, have closed the case on Bessette's death, said Lt. Leo Bachand of the Derby barracks. Kathleen Lanman, superintendent of Northern State Correctional Facility, declined to comment on Bessette's death. Suicides are rare among inmates, though there are dozens of attempts within the corrections system annually. Detainees -- those awaiting trial -- can be very high risks for suicide, said Dawn Seibert, an attorney with the state Prisoners' Rights Office. Bessette, 34, was one of three Vermont inmates found dead or dying in state facilities in a five-week period. The causes of death for the other two, Eva LaBounty, 30, and Charles Caleb Palmer Jr., 48, remain under investigation. Corrections officials have said they are concerned drugs were involved in the latter two deaths. Bachand said officers will continue to investigate if drugs contributed to Palmer's death. Palmer, who died April 20, was also an inmate at Northern State. LaBounty, who died May 7, was incarcerated at Dale Women's Facility in Waterbury. The Corrections Department is conducting its own investigations into the three deaths, Commissioner Steve Gold has said. Constance Bessette, Lawrence Bessette's mother, said Friday she hopes the Corrections Department takes some responsibility for her son's death. She declined to comment further. Burlington police arrested Bessette on April 30 after he failed to appear in court for violating the conditions of his earlier release, according to documents filed in Vermont District Court in Burlington. He faced a charge, among others, of aggravated domestic assault stemming from a fight with his girlfriend of seven years, according to court papers. |
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